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Yuan Chonghuan was a prominent [[Ming Dynasty]] general who led Chinese forces against the [[Manchus]].
Yuan began his official career as a member of the palace scholar-bureaucracy, having passed through the [[Chinese imperial examinations]]. He was sent on an inspection tour of southern [[Manchuria]] in [[1622]], and after surveying some of the key mountain passes, provided suggestions as to how to defend them. By this time a member of the staff of the Ministry of War, drawing both upon knowledge of European firearms and tactics, and other natively Chinese understandings, he was able to lead the Ming armies to a successful defense of the Liao River against the forces of [[Nurhachi]]. He was named grand marshal of all the northeastern forces in [[1628]], but by [[1630]] came to have numerous political enemies among both the military and the scholar-bureaucracy; when Manchu forces threatened [[Beijing]] in that year, he was accused of colluding with them, and was condemned to death.
In the aftermath of his death, many generals, rather than step up to replace him, surrendered to the Manchus and switched sides, contributing to the eventual [[Qing Dynasty|Manchu]] victory over the Ming.
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==References==
*Jonathan Spence, ''The Search for Modern China'', Second Edition, W.W. Norton & Co. (1999), 24-25.
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Other Historical Figures]]
